I Just Do
by kevin the bird
Summary: Very young Michael asking his very pregnant mother when the baby arrives!


Michael knew that eating a snack so close to dinner probably wasn't the best thing to do, especially when his eight month pregnant mother was the one making it. But being a growing five-year-old, he was always wanting to eat, so he walked into the kitchen with a mission - to eat a snack before dinner. Madeline hadn't noticed Michael walk into the kitchen, so he grabbed her attention by letting her know he was hungry.

"I'm hungry, Mommy," he said as he watched her cut something up. He wasn't quite tall enough to see things on the counter, so he walked over to where his mother was standing and stood on his tippy toes to look at what she was cutting. Madeline looked down at her son, who was watching her cut up the carrots for the salad, and put the knife down on the cutting board. She grabbed the towel on the counter and wiped her hands off.

"Dinner's almost ready, baby," Madeline replied as she turned around and looked at the boiling pot on the stove. When Westens were hungry, it was not a pretty sight. They often got angry and Michael was starting to get to that point. But he wasn't quite there yet, so he was really pushy about getting something to eat.

"But I'm really hungry," he said. Madeline turned around and looked at her son while she put her hands on her lower back and stretched her shoulders back, pushing her baby bump out. It was tough being eight months pregnant with a five-year-old and an alcoholic husband, so she agreed to give Michael something to eat, knowing it was easier to allow him to have something to eat then fight him. She walked over to him, picked him up and sat him next to the carrots.

"Have some carrots," she said as she grabbed one and put it in her mouth. She was also always hungry, so she often munched on the food she was making and then ate an entire plate when it was done. Michael grabbed a couple and put them in his mouth. He started softly chewing as Madeline grabbed the knife and continued chopping the carrot. That's when Michael looked at his mother's pregnant stomach. He was excited to have a little brother or sister, especially now that Madeline's stomach looked like it was about to pop. It was hard for a five-year-old to imagine a baby growing inside of their mother's stomach when it was still flat or she had a small baby bump. But now that Madeline was in the later stages of the pregnancy, it was easy for Michael to imagine a baby brother, he hoped, growing inside of her stomach. When Madeline finished the carrot she was chopping, she put the knife in the sink and then grabbed the towel and wiped her hands again.

"When's the baby coming, Mommy?" Michael asked. Madeline looked at Michael and softly smiled to herself. She put her hands against her stomach and softly started rubbing her baby bump.

"Next month, sweetheart," she said. Michael was always so interested in her stomach. It was fun to watch him interact with the unborn baby. He was already so protective of it.

"I want him to come now," Michael said with conviction. Madeline laughed, which caused the baby to kick. She moved her hand to where Nate, as Madeline was already starting to call her baby, was kicking. She didn't know the sex of the baby, but she had a gut feeling that it was going to be another boy.

"Do you want to feel your little brother or sister kick?" Madeline asked. She knew that Michael loved when the baby kicked and that it was an unnecessary question, but she wanted to see the excitement on Michael's face. Michael looked up at his mother and smiled before nodding his head excitedly in agreement. Madeline quickly took Michael's small hand in hers and moved it so it was resting where the baby was kicking. A few seconds pass in silence as Michael felt the baby kick. The excitement was still present on his face while Madeline laughed again, spurring the baby to kick even more.

"He's kicking even more!" Michael said as he looked up at his mother, even more excited.

"How do you know you're getting a little brother?" Madeline asked. Michael was always referring to her baby bump as 'he." Madeline loved it because she also thought it was going to be a little boy, but neither of them knew if they were, in fact, going to get a little boy.

"I don't know," Michael said as he shrugged his shoulders and looked back down at his mother's very pregnant baby bump. "I just do," he said. Madeline saw a lot of herself in Michael. He was stubborn, he was intelligent and very self sufficient. Madeline laughed one more time as she took a baby step closer to Michael, as her protruding stomach only allowed her that much more space, and pulled her son into a hug. Madeline didn't often show her maternal side, but she had a bad day and Michael managed to make it a little better.

"I love you, Mommy," Michael said as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I love you too, baby," Madeline said.


End file.
